Charlie Kested, a 81-year-old Navy Veteran, has spent the last 10 years hand carving every single letter, word and line of the Declaration of Independence out of wood. The result is beautiful: dark walnut words, Baltic birch background and awe-inspiring patriotism.

The carving is huge, just as tall as Charlie Kested himself, and incredibly detailed, with fellow woodworkers calling it "museum quality" and "so precise you can't believe they were made by hand."

Kested suffered a stroke a year ago, which left him with no feeling in one hand, but he still wanted to finish his carving of the Declaration of Independence. And he's not stopping, his next project is carving the Gettysburg Address. [Highland Woodworking via Neatorama]